Warning: this story contains spoilers for Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, now streaming on Disney+. A deleted scene spares a character from death in the final battle of Shang-Chi. In the film’s finale, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and estranged sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) join their aunt Ying Nan (Michelle Yeoh) in defending the ancient village of Ta Lo from their father, Wenwu (Tony Leung), wielder of the powerful and mystical Ten Rings. Wenwu plots to open the Dark Gate, freeing the soul-devouring Dweller-in-Darkness on the dimension of Ta Lo — and the world.
Wenwu’s army, enforced by the cybernetic-blade-handed Razor Fist (Florian Munteanu), attacks the village as Wenwu uses the rings to destroy the Dark Gate. An opening unleashes an army of soul-sucking creatures on the battlefield, forcing the Ten Rings to stand with the warriors of Ta Lo and their weapons capable of killing the soul eaters.
In the deleted scene(via IGN), valet driver-turned-amateur archer Katy (Awkwafina) is anxious and overwhelmed. “I’m an amputee from Romania who shouldn’t be here either,” says Razor Fist, “but I’ve seen you drive and shoot better than most men in my army. Right now, the only thing that matters is stopping that monster.”
Before she can fire the shot that helps save Ta Lo, Katy needs her weapon. Having upgraded his razor attachment with a blade glowing with the magical energy of Ta Lo, Razor Fist cuts through the soul suckers and tosses Katy her bow. But it comes with a cost: Razor Fist is impaled and drained of his life force, his soul stolen to feed the Dweller-in-Darkness.
Razor Fist survives the theatrical cut of Shang-Chi, where Katy’s archery teacherGuang Bo (Yuen Wah) and Ten Rings assassin Death Dealer (Andy Le) perish in the battle of Ta Lo. A post-credits scene reveals Razor Fist to be the right-hand of Xialing, who has taken the throne and her father’s place as the new leader of the Ten Rings.
Munteanu previously revealed Shang-Chi cut Razor Fist’s big scene in the final battle and a backstory adding depth to his relationship with Wenwu.
“We had that big end battle, and you [originally] would have seen a bit more there from Razor Fist,” the actor told CBM. “I’m looking forward to people seeing that because there was a reason why he replaced his blade with the dragon sword and fights with two swords, but I don’t want to spoil too much, and I don’t want to give away too much.”
On Wenwu, Munteanu said, “I always call [him] stepdad because, at the end of the day, Wenwu gave him a new life and purpose and a home. He trained him and took him away from the streets. That’s also something you will see in the bonus material with his daughter [Xialing], so there’s more meaning to that than just following a new leader, but we’ll have to see what happens.”
Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is now streaming for all subscribers on Disney+.
If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here. Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.
HONG KONG — David Tse recalls being overcome with pride as he walked out of a British movie theater after watching “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Marvel’s latest superhero film.
“Our community has finally arrived in the West,” the British Chinese actor and writer said via telephone from Birmingham. “Every Chinese person around the world should be immensely proud of Shang-Chi.”
The film, Marvel’s first with a predominantly Asian cast, has been a hit with global audiences, earning more at U.S. theaters than any other movie during the pandemic and grossing more than $366 million worldwide since its release early last month.
But despite its box office success and the overwhelmingly positive reaction by Asian communities worldwide, it isn’t playing on a single screen in mainland China, which last year overtook North America as the world’s biggest movie market. It’s the latest film to run into trouble in the country amid rising nationalism and U.S.-China tensions.
From the beginning, “Shang-Chi” was made with China in mind. Much of the film’s dialogue is in Mandarin, and the cast includes some of Asian cinema’s biggest names, including Michelle Yeoh and the Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung, making his Hollywood film debut.
Marvel’s first movie with a predominantly Asian cast, has been a hit with global audiences. Courtesy of Marvel
Simu Liu, a Chinese-born Canadian actor who also starred in the Netflix sitcom “Kim’s Convenience,” plays Shang-Chi, a reluctant martial arts warrior forced to confront his father. The film has been widely praised as a major step forward as Hollywood tries to improve representation of Asians and Asian Americans.
“Finally we see a strong character that isn’t stereotyped the way we have been for generations,” Tse said. “Our young people are desperate for more of them.”
“Shang-Chi” has not received the same welcome in China, where films are strictly censored and the number of foreign releases each year is limited. That has not stopped Marvel in the past — in 2019, “Avengers: Endgame” earned $629 million from mainland Chinese audiences, more than any other foreign film in history.
Officials have not said why “Shang-Chi” has no release date, and the propaganda department of China’s ruling Communist Party, which regulates the country’s film and TV industry, did not respond to a request for comment.
Experts point to the deterioration of U.S.-China relations, rising Chinese nationalism and the character’s racist comic book past.
Rife with stereotypes
Marvel debuted the Shang-Chi character in 1973 amid growing American interest in martial arts movies. The early Shang-Chi comics were rife with stereotypes about Asians, the characters portrayed in unnatural yellow tones. Shang-Chi’s father, a power-hungry villain named Fu Manchu, has been criticized as a symbol of “yellow peril,” a xenophobic ideology originating in the 19th century in which Asians, especially Chinese, were viewed as a threat to Western existence.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has emphasized that Fu Manchu is no longer a character in Marvel comics and that Shang-Chi’s father in the film, played by Leung, is a completely different character named Xu Wenwu. But for some the connection persists.
“Chinese audiences cannot accept a prejudiced character from 100 years ago is still appearing in a new Marvel film,” the Beijing-based film critic Shi Wenxue told the Global Times, a state-backed nationalist tabloid.
Liu, 32, who immigrated to Canada with his parents in the 1990s, has also drawn public ire over past comments critical of his birth country.
In a 2016 Twitter post, he described Chinese government censorship as “really immature and out of touch.”
The following year, in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that has since been taken down, Liu described China as a “third world” country where people were “dying of starvation” at the time he and his parents left. A screenshot of his comments has circulated on Weibo, a popular social networking platform in China, with one user commenting: “Then why does he play a Chinese character?”
Michael Berry, director of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies, said Liu’s comments had been “taken out of context and politicized.”
“Once a cyberattack is waged against a film or individual in China, there are usually a series of talking points that are manufactured and then leveraged to take advantage of rising nationalist sentiment,” he told NBC News.
‘Reclaiming our culture’
The anger over Liu’s comments echoes an earlier episode involving Chloé Zhao, the Beijing-born director of “Nomadland,” who made history this year when she became the first woman of color to win the Oscar for best director.
“Nomadland” had been slated for a limited mainland release, but then a 2013 interview with Filmmaker magazine resurfaced in which Zhao described China as “a place where there are lies everywhere.” She was targeted by online commenters accusing her of smearing the nation, and the film was never shown.
“Eternals,” an upcoming Marvel film directed by Zhao, could also be denied a release date in mainland China.
Berry called the treatment of Liu and Zhao a “great tragedy,” describing them as China’s “best hope for better cross-cultural understanding between China and the West.”
Many moviegoers elsewhere in the region have celebrated “Shang-Chi” for promoting that understanding.
Officials have not said why “Shang-Chi” has no release date, and the propaganda department of China’s ruling Communist Party, which regulates the country’s film and TV industry, did not respond to a request for comment. Courtesy of Marvel
Adrian Hong, 22, a student who has seen the film twice in Hong Kong, which has its own film regulator, said it spoke volumes about the “beauty and grace of Chinese culture.”
“The beauty of martial art, the concept of yin and yang, the incredible mythical creatures, all add to the film,” he said.
Some commenters on Weibo have also questioned the mainland government’s apparent decision against showing the film.
“Why do some people say Shang-Chi offends China?” one user asked. “The movie doesn’t offend China, but promotes traditional Chinese culture instead.”
For Tse, the actor and writer, “Shang-Chi” is all the more important because of the rampant anti-Asian racism, discrimination and violence unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is a pushback for all the Asian hate crimes against us. It’s an answer to all the bigots who have been against us for decades,” he said. “Shang-Chi is us reclaiming our culture. It says globally, culturally, this is a new tide of history.”
As the cards fell, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ended up as an intimate story of Simu Liu’s titular character and his relationships with his father Wenwu (Tony Leung) and sister (Meng’er Zhang). As it turns out, however, Shang-Chi almost had a brother in the movie, and that brother may or may not have had something to do with the film’s big bad.
In one new interview, Shang-Chi helmer Destin Daniel Cretton suggested there was one iteration of the script where Shang-Chi had a brother who ultimately turned into a monster, one that may have had a comics inspiration.
“I mean, at one point, there was a moment when Shang-Chi had a brother that was left behind with Dad rather than a sister,” Cretton told Yahoo! Entertainment. “That was early on. And there’s inspirations from the comics for that character. And I think the brother, like, turned into a monster at one point.”
Screenwriter Dave Callaham then added that there were some things early on in the development process that Marvel Studios wanted them to remove for ultimately being “too crazy.”
“We were doing some pretty weird stuff at the beginning before Jonathan kind of pulled us back. He knows the world,” the scribe added. “I think Destin and I, when we got there, were like ‘We can do anything! It’s Marvel!’ No idea was off the table to begin with, to be honest, which was really cool of Marvel, to let the team explore a little bit, and then eventually they tell you ‘You can’t do that, that’s too crazy’ or ‘We’re doing that somewhere else, but we can’t talk about it,’ that kind of thing.”
Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Charles Newirth serving as executive producers. David Callaham & Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham wrote the screenplay for the film, which is now in theaters. The film is due out on home media release on November 12th.
What did you think of Shang-Chi’s MCU debut? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!
Saturday AM Update: Refresh for chart and more analysis As predicted, Disney-Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsrefused to slow down, firmly holding No. 1 with a $3.6M Friday, which alone makes the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed feature the highest grossing title during the pandemic ahead of Black Widow with $186.7M running total. By the end of tomorrow, Shang-Chi will make close to $12.8M, a great -41% hold, and a running total of $196M. What’s Shang-Chi‘s ultimate domestic endgame? Just under $250M seems quite conceivable.
Everett/Disney
According to box office analytics corp EntTelligence, Shang-Chi saw 19% of its patrons attending after 9PM on Friday and near 16% showing up before 3PM.
Related Story
‘Shang-Chi’ Eclipsing ‘Black Widow’ Today As Highest-Grossing Film During Pandemic At Domestic B.O.
Meanwhile, Universal’s Dear Evan Hansen, arguably the most prolific major studio release on the fall schedule since Shang-Chi, is not doing well after a $3.3M Friday, including $800K Thursday previews, on its way to $7.3M in the No. 2 spot at 3,364 theaters; a lowly result which isn’t that far from Universal’s previous big Broadway feature take Cats which died promptly off a $6.6M opening over the Christmas 2019 holiday. Dear Evan Hansen, I hear, is on a 17-day theatrical window, especially with these numbers.
If there’s anything positive to say about Dear Evan Hansen, it’s that the teen dramatic musical cost significantly less than Cats, a net $27M after Georgia tax credits versus Cats’ $90M net. Dear Evan Hansen‘s demise at the domestic B.O. comes as no surprise after critics promptly ravaged it following its TIFF premiere with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 33%.
The fans of the Tony-winning Benj Pasek & Justin Paul musical did show up on Friday and Thursday, hence the A- CinemaScore. Initially, I heard off Thursday previews that the Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak was 82% and a 60% definite recommend, it’s now fallen to a 78% positive with a 57% definite recommend. Despite my enjoyment and consistent emotive cry while watching this 2 hour and 20 minute feature, this movie about a teenage boy with a social anxiety disorder who means to do good, but falls greatly short of that following the school bully’s suicide, doesn’t exactly spell escapism at the movie theater at a time when people want to have the time of their lives, away from the gloom of the lingering pandemic; it’s the stacked deck of fanboy IP in October of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, No Time to Die, and Dune that has many excited.
The few who bought tickets for Dear Evan Hansen were 62% females, 52% over 25 with 54% falling between 18-34, which is what Universal was expecting. Diversity demos were 58% Caucasian, 21% Latino and Hispanic, 8% Black, and 13% Asian/other. Also, not shocking to hear that Dear Evan Hansen played best on the East coast, however, Salt Lake City, Utah popped with five of the top ten theaters, and eight of the top 15; a standout market alongside the B.O. cities of NYC, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas and San Francisco.
iSpot estimates that before Dear Evan Hansen‘s opening, the studio spent $3M in TV spots which drew 236.4M impressions with ads booked on NBC, FX, CBS, Freeform and USA and during shows such as America’s Got Talent, Big Brother, Law & Order SVU, Bachelor in Paradise and re-runs of Friends.
The Indian-Telugu-language romantic dramaLove Story from Sekhar Kammula debuted in 300 theaters and continued to show how Bollywood fare continues to draw an audience during the pandemic with a theater average of $3,2K and an estimated 3-day of $971K at 300 theaters. The movie had fairly good numbers in NYC, Dallas, San Francisco, DC and Atlanta; there’s a shot it could get to $1M in the No. 10 spot. Friday cashed in $296K. Movie follows Revanth and Mouni who dream big when it comes to their lives. But with their social standing & gender proving to be a hindrance, will they manage to find a way to let their love prevail?
Searchlight Pictures
Filing No. 11 is the second weekend of Searchlight’s The Eyes of Tammy Fayewhich surged its theater count by 902 to 1,352. This is resulting in a hold of -3% with an estimated $633K in the No. 11 spot. The pic grossed $202K yesterday, down 18% from a week ago.PostTrak exits, as the audience measure report records wide releases, showed a low audience response than CinemaScore’s B+ with 67% positive and a 38% definite recommend. Of those who turned 65% were females, and 81% over 25 and 51% between 25-44 years old. Diversity breakdown was 76% Caucasian, 9% Latino and Hispanic, 10% Black, & 5% Asian/other. In its limited launch last weekend, iSpot estimates that Searchlight spent around $1M for TV spots that aired on MSNBC, CNN, Food Network, ABC and NBC pulling in 168M impressions and during shows such as Good Morning America, Today, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, The Rachel Maddow Show and Don Lemon Tonight.
Bleecker Street’s limited release of German Oscar entry I’m Your Manat 15 locations looks to make $28,5K for the weekend or $1,9K theater average after a $9,5K Friday. Unfortunately, these grosses aren’t a sign that arthouses have rebounded for this critically acclaimed movie at 95% certified fresh.
10.) Love Story(Sony) 300 theaters, Fri $296K/3-day $971K/ Wk 1
11.) The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Sea) 1,352 theaters (+902)/Fri $202K (-18%)3-day $633K (-3%)/Total: $1.5M/Wk 2
More…
Friday AM Update: Universal’s feature adaptation of Tony-winning Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen grossed $800K from previews last night from 2,700 theaters which started showtimes at 7PM.
The movie directed by Stephen Chbosky, and starring the Broadway musical’s original actor Ben Platt in the title role, is expected to make around $10M at 3,364 theaters, and is expected to be beat by Disney/Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in its fourth weekend with $11M-$12M. As we told you this morning, Shang-Chi is becoming the highest grossing movie during the pandemic at the domestic B.O. today, clicking past Disney/Marvel’s own Black Widow which counts $183.4M through yesterday. Females between the ages of 17-34 are the prime demo for Dear Evan Hansen.
Dear Evan Hansen‘s Thursday night is higher than that of Universal’s Cats which made $550K at 2,500 theaters from 7PM shows and was a disaster for the studio opening to $6.6M, and finaling at $27.1M domestic, $73.8M WW.
Dear Evan Hansen follows a high school senior with a Social Anxiety disorder, whose encouragement letter to himself becomes mistaken as the final note from the high school bully, Connor Murphy, who’s just committed suicide. Evan gets caught up in a whirlwind, perceived as Connor’s best friend and the only one who understood him, notions propelled by Connor’s parents. The pic, which touts a great cast with Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, and Kaitlyn Dever, made its world premiere at TIFF, but failed to see the critical praise of its Broadway edition with movie critics decimating the musical down to 37% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The pic is written for the screen by the show’s Tony winner Steven Levenson based on his book for the musical stage play, with music and lyrics by the show’s Oscar, Grammy and Tony-winning songwriting team of Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman).
Saturday AM Update: Any doubts about the health of the overall domestic box office continue to wane with Disney/Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings continuing to reign a top in its third weekend $21M, the second-best third weekend result for a September release after Warner Bros.’ It ($29.75M).
That’s a great -39% hold after a Friday of $5.8M, -40% and the Destin Daniel Cretton directed feature looks to stand by EOD Sunday at $176.1M.
There’s really not a lot to brag about in regards to the rest of newcomers on the chart, many of which are theatrical window releases.
Clint Eastwood’s western Cry Macho is not his best with 53% on Rotten Tomatoes and therefore not his best at the box office with an estimated $1.6M on Friday and $4.7M three-day at 3,967 theaters in third, and that’s with a theatrical day-and-date and HBO Max release. Cry Macho will slot third after 20th Studio/Disney’s Free Guy with $5M in 2nd place during its weekend 6, -10%. What would the film’s grosses look like without HBO Max taking eyeballs away? That’s the long-beaten million dollar question of 2021, however, we can’t proclaim that older demos are back in full in theaters during the pandemic, not to mention given the audience reactions here of a B CinemaScore and 73% positive on Screen Engine/PostTrak, we can’t expect the latest from the 91-year old filmmaker and actor to make that much more, even with a theatrical window. Eastwood, I hear, pulled this movie off a year ago with great deftness. Eastwood’s previous pre-pandemic release, The Mule, in which he also starred, earned a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, an A- CinemaScore and opened to $17.5M in the middle of December 2018 and legged out to $103.8M domestic.
Related Story
‘Eyes Of Tammy Faye,’ ‘Blue Bayou’ Seek Arthouse Momentum; Delta “Calmed Down” In Some Markets – Specialty Preview
Of Cry Macho‘s turnout, 79% were over 35, 62% over 45 and 36% over 55. The pic leaned a bit female at 51% with a diversity demos of 66% Caucasian, 14% Latino, 8% Black and 12% Asian/other. Best markets were West, South and Mid-West. All top ten theaters came from West and Southwest.
Open Road
Open Road’s Gerard Butler feature Cop Shopat 3,005 theaters pulled in $950K, the pic is expected to file $2.475M over three days. The pic has a glowing 80% from critics on RT, but didn’t impress audiences with 62% positive and a 39% recommend on PostTrak. How much in P&A was spent here? Because this Open Road release is just under its pandemic release openings, Liam Neeson’s Honest Thief and The Marksman, which respectively debuted to $4.1M and $3.1M. Per theater grosses weren’t that strong even with eight of the top ten runs coming from the West Coast. Those 54% over 35 showed up, as well as 34% over 45 with 60% guys leading and a diversity breakdown of 57% Caucasian, 18% Latino, 15% Black, and 10% Asian/other.
Searchlight Pictures
Searchlight’s The Eyes of Tammy Faye, hot off a great reception at its TIFF premiere, but an even less so result from critics who’ve grilled it at 67% fresh did $250K on Friday and an expected $653K over three days at 450 theaters for a $1,45K theater average which doesn’t scream that older arthouse crowds are back. The film earned a B+ CinemaScore, and was more dominant in the big cities and the coasts in regards to grosses with two theaters in Austin, TX making their way into the top ten run alongside NY and LA theater. Some decent numbers in the NY and LA run, I hear, best the rest of the grosses weren’t good. Upsetting, as Jessica Chastain shines here in this Michael Showalter-directed satirical biopic (and Andrew Garfield, too). Some have critiqued to me about the marketing: Did anyone know that this movie was opening? Indeed, a dilemma for all arthouse distributors as we enter Q4 and awards season: How much are we gonna spend?
Universal had its limited release of Blue Bayouin 477 theaters earning $120K on Friday, $305K for the weekend for a theater average of $639. The movie is 72% fresh on RT. Directed by Justin Chon, the pic follows a Korean-American man raised in the Louisiana bayou, who works hard to make a life for his family. He must confront the ghosts of his past as he discovers that he could be deported from the only country he has ever called home. Chon stars with Alicia Vikander.
Marvel released “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” with China in mind. Simu Liu, the film’s Canadian lead actor, was born in China. Much of its dialogue is in Mandarin. The cast includes Tony Leung, one of the biggest Chinese-speaking movie stars in history.
The studio’s first Asian superhero movie is a hit, drawing praise and ticket sales in East Asia and other global markets. Perhaps the only place where the movie has not been well received — in fact, it has not been received there at all — is mainland China.
Disney, which owns Marvel, has yet to receive clearance from Beijing’s regulators to show the film in the vast but heavily censored movie market. While the reasons aren’t clear, “Shang-Chi” may be a victim of the low point in U.S.-China relations.
China is also pushing back against Western influence, with increasingly vocal nationalists denouncing foreign books and movies and the teaching of English. They have even criticized Mr. Liu for his previous comments about China, which he left in the mid-1990s, when he was a small child.
Lack of access to the world’s largest movie market could limit how much money the film makes. But in other parts of Asia, the movie has been greeted warmly by audiences for how it depicts a Chinese superhero burdened by a racist back story.
“I was really expecting the movie to be racist,” said David Shin, a Marvel fan in Seoul. “I was surprised at how well they touched upon Asian culture.”
Worldwide, the movie has earned more than $250 million, all but guaranteeing audiences will be seeing more of Shang-Chi, the title character. Big sales in Asia helped: “Shang-Chi” earned more than $23 million in the Asia Pacific region and debuted at the top of the charts in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. It also set an industry record for a September weekend debut in Hong Kong.
The movie is a retelling of the story of a little-known Marvel character created in 1973 — 16 years before Mr. Liu was born — and updated for today’s audiences. It centers on Shang-Chi, a young man working as a valet who is reluctantly drawn into his father’s deadly criminal organization, known as the Ten Rings.
The group is named after the magical rings that Shang-Chi’s father, Xu Wenwu, wears on his wrists and that give him destructive power that have helped him destroy and conquer empires.
Xu Wenwu is played by Mr. Leung, a legend in Hong Kong cinema. His role in the film was pivotal in attracting Hong Kong audiences to the theaters, said Kevin Ma, a film industry observer and writer from Hong Kong.
“It’s hard to imagine anyone who watches Hong Kong films to not know who he is,” Mr. Ma said, adding that Mr. Leung was used as the central figure in advertisements for the film in the Chinese city.
To reshape the comic-book character to appeal to Asian and Asian American audiences, Marvel put the movie in the hands of Destin Daniel Cretton, a Japanese American director. In addition to Mr. Liu and Mr. Leung, the cast includes Michelle Yeoh, another major star in Asia, and Awkwafina, the Asian American actor and comedian.
Business & Economy
The strong showing by “Shang-Chi” comes after a wave of financial and critical success for recent films with Asian casts and production crews, like “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Parasite” and “The Farewell.”
But for blockbusters, mainland China is the major market to win. So far this year, its theaters have reaped $5.2 billion in ticket sales, according to Maoyan, which tracks Chinese box office results. Disney has submitted the movie for release there.
Despite its absence, the film has generated spirited debate on the Chinese internet. Global Times, a nationalist tabloid controlled by the Communist Party, published commentary that cited the racist origin of the character.
Readers of Shang-Chi comic books in the 1970s saw Asian faces colored in unnatural oranges and yellows. They saw the main character shirtless and shoeless, spouting “fortune-cookie platitudes in stilted English,” The New York Times noted recently. And then there was Shang-Chi’s father in the comics: He was named Fu Manchu and caricatured as a power-hungry Asian man, an image that harks back to the stereotypes first pressed upon Asian immigrants a century ago.
“How can Chinese people be insulted like this,” the Global Times commentary asked, “while at the same time we let you take our money?”
Some critics in China have also pointed to Mr. Liu’s previous comments about China. One nationalist account on Weibo, the popular social media platform, posted several screenshots from a previous interview with Mr. Liu in which he talked about how his parents left “Third World” China where people “were dying of starvation.” (The video is no longer online. A spokeswoman for Disney declined to comment on the remarks.)
Mr. Liu has been critical of China before. In 2016, when he was starring in the television show “Kim’s Convenience,” he wrote on Twitter, “I think countries that try to censor and cover up dissenting ideas rather than face them and deal with them are out of touch with reality.” When a Twitter user replied, “sounds like America,” Mr. Liu responded: “I was referring to Chinese gov’t censorship. It’s really immature and out of touch.”
Others, including some who said they had seen the movie, leapt to its defense.
“There is nothing wrong with the film and half of its dialogue is in Mandarin Chinese,” wrote a Weibo user. “Those who said it insulted China before were too irresponsible.”
Still, the movie has found some resonance with Chinese audiences who have managed to see the film. Jin Yang, 33, a Chinese film producer based in Beijing, praised the film after watching it in a theater in Hong Kong, which despite its own rising censorship operates under different rules.
“It’s a bit regretful that the film has not been released in mainland China,” Ms. Yang said. “It’d be great if Chinese audiences could see this film that combines Chinese and Western cultures so well.”
Debate about “Shang-Chi” predated the movie’s release, as China’s voluble online audience debated Mr. Liu’s looks, an argument that the actor himself noted with amusement. Some claimed to see a passing resemblance to a young Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, leading to Photoshopped images that others predicted might hurt its chances to pass muster with Chinese film regulators.
The trouble in China may have unintentionally helped sales in other markets in Asia, where Beijing’s increasing bellicosity with its neighbors has hurt public perceptions of the country.
“I thought that the movie might not be well received in South Korea because of the protagonist being Chinese,” Kim Hanseul, 31, a Marvel fan in Seoul, said. But, he said, the movie’s absence in China “has actually led to more Koreans watching the film.”
The movie’s fans said they hoped Chinese audiences would be able to see it eventually.
“It’s amusing,” said Ms. Yang, the film producer, “that it’s Americans’ turn to read subtitles in a Marvel film.”
Refresh for more analysis and chartWith great success, comes continued great chaos for the theatrical experience this past week. On the plus side, the domestic box office is continuing its rebound during the pandemic with the second weekend of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings earning $9.7M in its second Friday, -67% for an estimated 3-day of $31.8M which is the fourth biggest second weekend for a September release after It ($60.1M), It Chapter Two ($39.6M), and Hotel Transylvania 2 ($33.1M). Disney responds after the Marvel pic’s record Labor Day frame opening last weekend of $94.6M, by announcing that the rest of its domestic release slate for the year will honor a theatrical window ranging from 30-45 days per pic. Great, right?
Related Story
Disney’s ‘Eternals’, ‘West Side Story’, ‘Encanto’, ‘Last Duel’ & More To Hit Theaters Ahead Of Streaming Bow
But then Universal decides to take a solid franchise sequel they’ve been holding during the pandemic, Halloween Kills, and go day-and-date with it on Oct. 15. This coupled with news that Paramount Chairman & CEO and largely respecter of theatrical windows Jim Gianopulos is exiting the studio as ViacomCBS doubles down on streaming service Paramount+. Seriously, what the hell is going on? Does the town think we’re going to sit on our couches and watch our cell phones for eternity? The big screen is the curation of great product, don’t ya get that? How should we sift through a sea of titles on streaming menus if we don’t know what’s great yet?
‘Malignant’ Warner Bros
Warner Bros. which has turned the post-Labor Day frame into a blockbuster frame, staring with 2017’s It (with a $123.4M opening), and has continued to rule it with horror movies as It Chapter Two ($91M) and The Nun ($53.8M), will have to look forward to regaining its rule over this weekend next year with the New Line adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, because this weekend’s James Wan’s Daria Argento-inspired Malignantvia New Line doesn’t quite cut it with a theatrical debut of $5.5M per Warner Bros. after a $2M Friday. The pic is primed to slot No. 2. While we can always rely on HBO Max for siphoning grosses, this title actually divided audiences with a C CinemaScore and even worse PostTrak exits at 59% positive and a 38% definite recommend despite most critics giving the pic a 77% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score. The movie had an ending with a big twist, so it was hard for WarnerMedia to market the movie, and if you do a deep dive in reviews, you find that the pic was gory. The Associated Press’ Lindsey Bahr says “If you must see Malignant, a theater might honestly be the best bet. That way at least you can laugh along in utter shock with your fellow theater-goers” while calling the Wan directed title a “thanklessly humorless and offensively sadistic film that fails to capture any sort of authentic emotion or make any meaningful statements about trauma.” Eeeks. Wan and Warner Bros have easily moved on from this blunder; he’s already in production on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. If you’re here at TIFF, you can’t watch the movie on your phone, because HBO Max isn’t available in the country. Either head out to Cineplex to see it or rent it on PVOD here. Malignant, I hear cost $40m before P&A, and was a co-production between Starlight and New Line.
Malignant pulled in 68% 18-34, the tried and true moviegoers coming out during the pandemic, leaning 57% male and 68% over 25. Diversity breakdown was 42% Caucasian, 25% Latino, 18% Black and15% Asian/other. Pic’s best ticket sales were in West and South with L.A. venues dominant filling out of the top ten runs with two from San Antonio.
Focus
Focus Features has the Paul Schrader directed noir The Card Counterwhich after launching in Venice is 86% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The pic, which is set to rank No. 7, is set to make $1.05M at 580 locations in 127 markets for a $1,8K theater average after a $420K Friday. The movie is on a 17-day window and had some OK runs in New York, LA, Phoenix, San Diego and Austin. While the arthouse isn’t screaming back, it’s a notable take for a limited Focus release currently in less than 1K theaters, just behind their their Anthony Bourdain documentary Roadrunner which opened to close to $2M in 927 theaters and finaled at $5.2M. Schrader’s Oscar nominated First Reformed during the summer of 2018 had a platform release opening in $97,5K in four theaters over Memorial Day weekend and ultimately finaling stateside at $3.4M.
Sony Affirm had the faith-based title from producers the Kendrick Brothers, Show Me the Father which made $275K on Friday on its way to a $750K take from 1,073 locations. No reviews yet, but those who watched it, enjoyed it with an 88% on PostTrak and a 67% recommend. Pic skewed 53% guys, 71% over 35 and 52% over 45 with 63% Caucasian, 15% Black, 17% Asian/other and 5% Latino showing up. Pic played in the faith-based tracks of the Mid-West and South with the strongest draw in the Southeast. The Rick Altizer directed movie features captivating stories interwoven with inspirational truths about the fatherhood of God.
The third movie in the Anna Todd ya series After We Fell hit 45 markets in Canada with a OK figures out of Quebec and Montreal coming in with an estimated $618K opening.
Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings is making a heroic showing at the box office, where it will smash the record for Labor Day openings.
The Marvel Studios title from filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton grossed $29.6 million in Friday night ticket sales from 4,300 locations. Internationally, it has grossed $23.4 million, bringing Shang-Chi‘s combined haul to $53 million. The PG-13 movie, which earned positive reviews and a glowing A Cinemascore, stars Simu Liu as Marvel’s newest hero.
With expectations set for an opening of $75-80 million for the four-day frame, Shang-Chi is poised to be one of the biggest domestic openings of the pandemic and will smash the Labor Day weekend record previously held by the 2007 Halloween, which earned $30.6 over the four-day frame.
With its three-day number expected to be in the $60 million range, Shang-Chi is poised to be the third biggest domestic opening of the year, behind Black Widow, which debuted to $80.3 million over three days in July, while F9 brought in $70 million in late June.
Shang-Chi is a win for the theatrical experience at a time in which the delta variant continues to hamper attendance and day-and-date releases on streaming services have roiled the exhibition business. Unlike previous Marvel release Black Widow, which premiered day-and-date in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access, Shang-Chi will have an exclusive 45-day theatrical release. To date, Black Widow has earned $371.3 million at the global box office and sparked a lawsuit from star Scarlett Johansson, who argued the move hurt the box office in favor of feeding Disney’s streaming service.
Simultaneous releases and Shang-Chi were hot topics at CinemaCon last week, as Disney CEO Bob Chapek has indicated the film will inform the studio’s release strategy going forward. While introducing a screening of Shang-Chi, Rolando Rodriguez, chairman of the National Association of Theatre Owners, urged theater owners to do what they could to help it perform.
“Call it an ask from your chairman of NATO. This is important to all of us,” said Rodriguez. “It’s going to be a great showing from us, to our fantastic friends at the Walt Disney Company … to show them the importance of theatrical exhibition.”
In addition to Liu, Shang-Chi stars Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang, Tony Leung, Fala Chen and Michelle Yeoh.
Box office holdovers include Universal’s Candyman, which is coming in at No. 2 with $2.8 million on Friday night, falling 69 percent compared to the Friday of its opening weekend. Its cume-to-date is $31.3 million and is expected to earn around $13 million over the four-day frame.
Other Disney-released titles that are still hanging on at the domestic box office include Ryan Reynolds’s Free Guy, which has added $2.1 million from its fourth Friday at the box office for a total of $85.2 million domestic, and Jungle Cruise, which earned $85,000, for a domestic haul of $102.7 million.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is getting Marvel back to the pre-pandemic norm of releasing films only in theaters at first.
Marvel
Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hit theaters Friday, riding a tide of critical praise and buzz about its martial arts action sequences. But Shang-Chi isn’t available to stream on Disney Plus, limiting the viewing options for fans who got accustomed to streaming same-day movies or for anyone nervous about packing into cinemas as the delta variant stokes a resurgence in COVID-19.
The theatrical exclusive is a big change from Disney’s new normal during the pandemic. As cinemas shuttered or slashed capacity, Disney Plus became an outlet for the company to make movies available to wider audiences, especially as the stockpile of delayed films piled up.
Some Disney movies — typically midbudget live-action movies and its latest Pixar films, Luca and Soul — skipped theaters entirely and were available to stream on Disney Plus at no extra cost. For the biggest films, Disney Plus introduced its Premier Access model to sell streaming access to new, big-screen movies. Disney Plus members could stream brand-new movies at home for a $30 fee on top of their subscription price. Disney has released five movies this way, notably Marvel’s Black Widow in July.
Then as vaccinations widened, Disney reintroduced plans for theatrical exclusives again. The first movie to hit theaters this way was Free Guy, a video-game comedy from Disney’s 20th Century Studios. It was released in cinemas Aug. 13, with a 45-day commitment to be available only in theaters.
But the delta variant has thrown a wrench in all the studios’ release plans, which they devised at the height of optimism about a box-office recovery. Surveys indicate consumers are again feeling less comfortable going to the movies.
With all those factors swirling, Shang-Chi is up next.
Is Marvel’s Shang-Chi available to stream on Disney Plus?
No. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is available only in theaters, starting Friday.
During the pandemic, Disney released all of its new movies on Disney Plus in some way. A number of new flicks, like its latest Pixar movies, skipped theaters entirely and were available to stream on Disney Plus at no extra cost. But the biggest movies — like the latest Marvel movie before Shang-Chi, Black Widow — hit theaters and Disney Plus the same day, available to stream only by paying an extra $30 fee known through a model called Premier Access.
But Shang-Chi is getting back to the pre-pandemic norm of theatrical exclusives. It’ll be the first Marvel movie released only in theaters since Sony’s Spider-Man: Far from Home came out in July 2019.
When is Shang-Chi’s Disney Plus release?
Shang-Chi is expected to land on Disney Plus to stream in mid-October, likely at no added cost for subscribers.
However, Disney has repeatedly said it values flexibility above all else as it decides how to release films during the pandemic. The company hasn’t given a full-throated confirmation about exactly how Shang-Chi will be released on Disney Plus yet, so those expectation may change.
Shang-Chi is committed to being in theaters exclusively for at least 45 days. At that point, in mid-October, the movie is expected to reach Disney Plus. If Disney sticks to a 45-day theatrical window precisely, it would be Monday, Oct. 18. That’s much faster than Disney’s theatrical movies would hit the streaming service before the pandemic, when they typically took five to eight months to start streaming.
And Shang-Chi is expected to stream on Disney Plus then at no added cost, largely because Disney Plus has never charged a fee for anything on its service except for a brand-new movie. Every other $30 Premier Access release has been a film available in theaters and on Disney Plus the same day.
But again, these expectations are subject to change. Disney’s CEO indicated this release plan for Shang-Chi in mid-August. At the time, he emphasized the company’s commitment to a theatrical exclusive for Shang-Chi, but he was less concrete about what happens after the 45 days in theaters. He indicated Disney Plus was Shang-Chi’s destination after the 45-day window, all while reiterating that the company wants to stay flexible.
Entertain your brain with the coolest news from streaming to superheroes, memes to video games.
What is going to happen when the next Marvel movie, Eternals, comes out in November?
Disney hasn’t confirmed a streaming release date yet for Eternals, which is a star-packed Marvel movie scheduled to be released in theaters on Nov. 5. But here’s what we know, and some educated guesses about what to expect.
Disney is currently planning for Eternals to be in theaters exclusively when it first comes out, on Nov. 5.
If Disney sticks with a theatrical exclusive, it’s highly likely Eternals will be in theaters only for at least a month and a half, the same 45-day window Shang-Chi is going to have.
Disney Plus will be the only service to (eventually) stream Eternals when it does become available for streaming — but we have no real guidance for when Eternals will stream on Disney Plus.
Shang-Chi’s performance at the box office is likely to be a major factor in Disney’s decision-making about the specifics of Eternals’ release plan.
The arrival of Eternals on Disney Plus could come 45 days after its theatrical release, or it could take many months. Before the pandemic, new Disney movies would make their way to Disney Plus about five to eight months after they premiered in theaters. If Disney returns to that norm, it’s possible Disney Plus subscribers could be waiting until summer 2022 to start streaming Eternals.
We won’t know for certain until Disney confirms a streaming plan. And it won’t confirm an Eternals streaming plan until Disney can see how Shang-Chi fares.
Now playing: Watch this:
Amazon’s MGM takeover is big for Prime Video — but not…
3:34
Movies coming in 2021 and 2022 from Netflix, Marvel, HBO and more
If you can believe it, we’re still only at the start of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the first brand-new character has entered the fray with an exhilarating origin story. Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings tells the story of Shang-Chi and how he learns to embrace his past while forging his future, along the way solidifying himself as a Marvel Hero.
The film also introduces several Asian heroes and heroines into the larger MCU tapestry, told with stunning visuals, mind-blowing action, and a stellar cast directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. As the director tells Marvel.com, “regardless of what your ethnic background is, Shang-Chi’s journey is something that is so relatable.”
While you might be excited to experience Shang-Chi’s journey on the big screen, the cast is even more stoked to see it come to life and resonate with fans around the world — especially younger ones, who might be seeing themselves as a Super Hero for the first time. Meng’er Zhang, who plays Shang-Chi’s sister Xialing, is already seeing some of this in action when she was met with attendees dressed as her character on the red carpet for the world premiere, noting that Marvel fans are “so quick and so creative.”
“Asian representation is really important to me, and Asian kids growing up in Western countries can have Super Heroes that they can look up to and say, ‘They look like me.’ That’s amazing. I’m just super proud and I feel really lucky to be a part of this film and to be a part of this amazing moment.”
Fala Chen, who plays Shang-Chi’s mother Ying Li, (who also happens to be a new mom!) loves that her daughter will “grow up watching films in where she sees Super Heroes and characters who look like her. That fact alone makes me really happy as a parent.”
Chen grew up in China before moving to America, and as she explains, “I did see films with faces like mine, but I never really grew up seeing a Super Hero because that just didn’t exist, an Asian Super Hero. When I was growing up then later in America, I couldn’t find a Super Hero that I would like to dress up as.”
But with Shang-Chi, “now not only we have one, but we have multiple characters that kids can grow up watching,” continues Chen.
